Gold IRA Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)

A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the smallest amount the tax law makes you withdraw from a Traditional IRA each year once you reach a set age. Holding gold, silver or other approved metals instead of stocks doesn't change the rules. It does change the practical side, because the account may hold little or no cash. This page covers the RMD part of the broader Gold IRA withdrawal rules.

When do RMDs start for a Gold IRA?

The IRS says: "You generally have to start taking withdrawals from your IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or retirement plan account when you reach age 73" (IRS). The IRS page mentions only age 73. Under 26 U.S.C. 401(a)(9)(C)(v), the applicable age is 73 for people who reach age 73 before 2033 and 75 for people who reach age 74 after 2032. Check which applies to you with the IRS or a tax professional. A self-directed IRA that holds metals is still an IRA, and Treasury's IRA regulation says plainly: "An IRA is subject to the required minimum distribution requirements of section 401(a)(9)" (26 CFR 1.408-8).

The starting age, which the regulations call the "applicable age," depends on your date of birth. Treasury's RMD regulations set it out by birth year (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-2(b)(2)):

So the scheduled move to age 75 applies to people born in 1960 or later. The regulation states: "In the case of an employee born on or after January 1, 1960, the applicable age is age 75." The paragraph for people born in 1959 is left "[Reserved]." If you were born in 1959, check current IRS guidance or ask a tax professional before relying on either age.

What are the RMD deadlines?

There are two deadlines to know:

• First RMD: For IRAs, it's due by "April 1 of the year following the calendar year in which you reach age 73" (IRS). The April 1 date is called the required beginning date.
• Every later RMD: "For each year after your required beginning date, you must withdraw your RMD by December 31" (same source).

Delaying the first one has a catch. The IRS gives this pattern: someone who reached 73 in 2024 had a first RMD due by April 1, 2025, and a second due by December 31, 2025 (IRS FAQs; IR-2024-309). Two withdrawals in one calendar year mean two amounts counted as taxable income that year for a Traditional IRA.

Unlike a workplace plan, an IRA has no "still working" delay. The IRS describes the later-of-age-or-retirement rule only for workplace plans.

How is a Gold IRA valued for RMDs?

The IRS says the RMD for any year is "the account balance as of the end of the immediately preceding calendar year divided by a distribution period from the IRS's 'Uniform Lifetime Table'" (IRS). Publication 590-B describes the balance as of "the close of business on December 31 of the preceding year" (Publication 590-B).

For a Gold IRA, that balance is mostly the value of the coins and bars on that date. Your custodian reports the account's fair market value for the year on Form 5498. On Form 5498, box 5 "Shows the FMV of all investments in your account at year end." Box 11 is checked if an RMD is due for the next year, and boxes 12a and 12b show the date by which it must be taken and the amount.

Metals don't have one single price. Ask your custodian which price it uses for the year-end value, since that number drives your RMD. The IRS notes that even when a custodian calculates the RMD, "the account owner is ultimately responsible for taking the correct RMD amount" (IRS FAQs).

How do you calculate a Gold IRA RMD?

The IRS worksheet has three steps (IRS RMD worksheet):

1. Find the IRA balance on December 31 of the previous year.
2. Find the distribution period in the table for your age on your birthday this year.
3. Divide line 1 by line 2.

Most owners use the Uniform Lifetime Table. Publication 590-B says to use it "if you are the IRA owner and your spouse isn't the sole designated beneficiary or if your spouse is the sole designated beneficiary of your IRA and not more than 10 years younger than you." If your spouse is the sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger, a different table (Table II) applies (Publication 590-B).

Here are the Uniform Lifetime Table divisors for the first years, from the regulation itself (26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9):

Worked example (hypothetical numbers)

Assume an owner turns 74 this year. Their only IRA is a Traditional Gold IRA. On December 31 of last year, the custodian valued the metal and cash in it at $200,000. These figures are made up to show the arithmetic.

• Balance: $200,000
• Divisor at age 74: 25.5
• RMD: $200,000 ÷ 25.5 = $7,843.14

That amount must come out by December 31 of this year. Taking more is allowed, but extra this year doesn't reduce next year's minimum. The IRS says a distribution in excess of one year's RMD can't be applied to future years (IRS FAQs). A Gold IRA RMD calculator can run the same steps with your own figures.

Can you take the RMD from another IRA?

Often, yes. If you own more than one Traditional IRA, Publication 590-B says "you must determine a separate required minimum distribution for each IRA. However, you can total these minimum amounts and take the total from any one or more of the IRAs" (Publication 590-B). This is called aggregation.

Continuing the example: suppose the same owner also has a Traditional IRA of stock funds worth $300,000 at year-end. Its RMD is $300,000 ÷ 25.5 = $11,764.71. The total is about $19,607.85 (the two figures are rounded). The owner could take all of it from the stock-fund IRA and leave the metal untouched, or split it any way.

The regulation sets limits on mixing account types (26 CFR 1.408-8):

How can you pay an RMD from a metals IRA?

Sell metal and take cash

The custodian arranges a sale of enough metal and pays you the cash. Sales typically go through a dealer at its buyback price, which is often below its selling price; ask your custodian how sales are handled. See selling metals inside a Gold IRA.

Take metal in kind

You can take coins or bars themselves as an in-kind distribution. For property distributed from an IRA, the custodian reports in box 1 of Form 1099-R "the FMV of the securities or other property on the date of distribution" (IRS instructions). That value is the taxable amount for a Traditional IRA.

The IRS RMD pages we reviewed state the minimum as an amount to withdraw and don't say it must be paid in cash. They also don't spell out how an in-kind RMD is counted. Coins come in fixed sizes, so the value shipped rarely matches the RMD to the cent. Confirm with your custodian how it values and records an in-kind RMD, and whether it adds cash to cover any shortfall.

Why liquidity matters for RMDs

An IRA that holds only metal has no cash on hand. Each year, something must be sold or shipped to meet the RMD. Custodian fees may also need paying. If metal prices are low when the RMD is due, selling locks in that price. This is the liquidity risk of a metals-only IRA.

Common ways owners plan for this, depending on their situation:

• Keep some cash inside the Gold IRA.
• Take the combined RMD from another Traditional IRA, where aggregation allows.
• Start the sale or shipment well before December 31, since dealer and custodian processing takes time.

What happens if you miss an RMD?

The IRS says that if you don't take enough, "you may have to pay a 25% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required (10% if withdrawn within 2 years)" (IRS). You may have to file Form 5329 to report the tax.

The IRS may waive it "if the account owner establishes that the shortfall in distributions was due to reasonable error and that reasonable steps are being taken to remedy the shortfall." The request is made with Form 5329 and an explanatory letter (IRS FAQs).

Mistakes to avoid:

• Assuming the custodian will act on its own. You are responsible for the amount.
• Rolling the RMD into another IRA. The IRS says RMD amounts can't be rolled over into another tax-deferred account.
• Starting a metal sale in late December and missing the deadline.
• Using a Roth IRA withdrawal to cover a Traditional IRA's RMD.

Do Roth Gold IRAs have RMDs?

Not while the original owner is alive. Publication 590-B says: "If you are the original owner of a Roth IRA, you don't have to take distributions regardless of your age" (Publication 590-B). The regulation adds: "No minimum distributions are required to be made from a Roth IRA while the owner is alive" (26 CFR 1.408-8).

Beneficiaries are different. The IRS notes that "beneficiaries of Roth IRAs and Designated Roth accounts are subject to RMD rules" (IRS FAQs). See Roth Gold IRAs.

What about inherited Gold IRAs?

Inherited IRAs follow their own RMD rules, which depend on who the beneficiary is and when the owner died. Those rules are covered in inherited Gold IRA rules. Remember that an inherited IRA's RMD can't be combined with your own IRAs' RMDs.

Related questions

Is the RMD taxed?

From a Traditional IRA, generally yes. Publication 590-B says "Distributions from a traditional IRA are taxed as ordinary income, but if you made nondeductible contributions, not all of the distribution is taxable" (Publication 590-B). See Gold IRA taxes.

Does my custodian calculate my RMD?

It may, and Form 5498 has boxes for RMD information. The IRS still holds the owner responsible for the correct amount.

Can I take my RMD in monthly pieces?

The IRS rules set an annual minimum and a deadline; the pages cited here don't require it to be taken in one withdrawal. Ask your custodian whether it offers scheduled distributions and what each one costs, because each sale or shipment can carry fees.

Should I take cash or metal?

That depends on your taxes, cash needs and plans for the metal. A CPA or enrolled agent can help weigh the trade-offs for your situation.